Charity dance shows a different side of Teaneck High School students

By AARON MORRISON

Staff Writer |

The Record

TEANECK — Their graduating class suffered from negative attention last week — the result of a senior prank that police say got out of control — but on Saturday, some members of the Teaneck High School class of 2014 were visible in a more positive light.

VIOREL FLORESCU /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Teaneck High School student Gabrielle Ulubay dancing with Theo Solomon at the Seniors Hosting Seniors dance on Saturday.

A dozen seniors from the high school mingled with more than 50 senior citizens at the Glenpointe Complex during an annual dance that encourages intergenerational socializing.

Thursday’s early morning incident at the high school, which resulted in the arrest of 18 percent of the senior class, was a topic of conversation among the attendees as they enjoyed a dinner buffet and two-stepped to Latin music and oldies.

And those on hand agreed that people need to know that, despite last week’s headlines, there is another side to the story, embodied in a tradition of volunteerism and community service at the school.

“The prank is not what Teaneck High School is about. I’ve seen these kids put in thousands of hours of community service,” said Denise Schachter, the high school’s community service coordinator, adding that most students complete more than the 60 hours required for graduation.

“They’ve planned many community events like this, but they also planned a prank,” she said.

Police said scores of students broke into the school in the early morning hours Thursday, tripping the burglar alarm and drawing officers from numerous law-enforcement agencies to the scene, where police say they discovered widespread vandalism.

School officials on Friday contradicted police accounts, saying the students had not broken any desks or chairs and that no one had urinated on the floors.

Robert Carney, acting Teaneck police chief, who said the incident was “not a prank,” confirmed Friday that 63 12th-graders rounded up in the incident — 39 juveniles and 24 adults — face burglary and criminal-mischief charges. Court records show 23 people have been charged with third-degree burglary, which can carry a prison sentence of up to five years, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

Police released no further information Saturday, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment about the charges.

In its third year, Saturday’s semiformal dance was something of a prom — the sky-lit atrium of the Glenpointe Complex had been decorated with balloons and colorful tablecloths. In between free-dance segments, members of the high school’s Student Organization for Latino Awareness performed choreographed numbers before asking the senior citizens to join them on the floor. Prizes were given out at the end of the three-hour social.

Teaneck High School’s actual prom might be in jeopardy for some members of the class as school officials have suggested revoking the privilege as a potential punishment for those involved with the prank.

One of the students on hand Saturday thought that would be excessive, at least for some of the accused students.

“Some of the people that were involved, I never thought they would do something like that. Some of them are being made guilty because they were there,” Shauna Ricketts said. “They should cut them some slack.”

Lucile Johnson, a senior attendee whose children attended the high school, said there should be consequences for the students who vandalized the school, but that punishment should not be so severe to set them back.

“They have so much freedom nowadays that I didn’t have when I was coming up,” Johnson said. “It’s harder for them; there is more peer pressure. But why should they not still be able to go to college with a scholarship?”

Johnson added that if they students “stay true to their roots,” they should go on to make the right life decisions.

Charity dance shows a different side of Teaneck High School students

Teaneck High School student Gabrielle Ulubay dancing with Theo Solomon at the Seniors Hosting Seniors dance on Saturday.

By AARON MORRISON

Staff Writer |

The Record

TEANECK — Their graduating class suffered from negative attention last week — the result of a senior prank that police say got out of control — but on Saturday, some members of the Teaneck High School class of 2014 were visible in a more positive light.

A dozen seniors from the high school mingled with more than 50 senior citizens at the Glenpointe Complex during an annual dance that encourages intergenerational socializing.

Thursday’s early morning incident at the high school, which resulted in the arrest of 18 percent of the senior class, was a topic of conversation among the attendees as they enjoyed a dinner buffet and two-stepped to Latin music and oldies.

And those on hand agreed that people need to know that, despite last week’s headlines, there is another side to the story, embodied in a tradition of volunteerism and community service at the school.

“The prank is not what Teaneck High School is about. I’ve seen these kids put in thousands of hours of community service,” said Denise Schachter, the high school’s community service coordinator, adding that most students complete more than the 60 hours required for graduation.

“They’ve planned many community events like this, but they also planned a prank,” she said.

Police said scores of students broke into the school in the early morning hours Thursday, tripping the burglar alarm and drawing officers from numerous law-enforcement agencies to the scene, where police say they discovered widespread vandalism.

School officials on Friday contradicted police accounts, saying the students had not broken any desks or chairs and that no one had urinated on the floors.

Robert Carney, acting Teaneck police chief, who said the incident was “not a prank,” confirmed Friday that 63 12th-graders rounded up in the incident — 39 juveniles and 24 adults — face burglary and criminal-mischief charges. Court records show 23 people have been charged with third-degree burglary, which can carry a prison sentence of up to five years, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

Police released no further information Saturday, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment about the charges.

In its third year, Saturday’s semiformal dance was something of a prom — the sky-lit atrium of the Glenpointe Complex had been decorated with balloons and colorful tablecloths. In between free-dance segments, members of the high school’s Student Organization for Latino Awareness performed choreographed numbers before asking the senior citizens to join them on the floor. Prizes were given out at the end of the three-hour social.

Teaneck High School’s actual prom might be in jeopardy for some members of the class as school officials have suggested revoking the privilege as a potential punishment for those involved with the prank.

One of the students on hand Saturday thought that would be excessive, at least for some of the accused students.

“Some of the people that were involved, I never thought they would do something like that. Some of them are being made guilty because they were there,” Shauna Ricketts said. “They should cut them some slack.”

Lucile Johnson, a senior attendee whose children attended the high school, said there should be consequences for the students who vandalized the school, but that punishment should not be so severe to set them back.

“They have so much freedom nowadays that I didn’t have when I was coming up,” Johnson said. “It’s harder for them; there is more peer pressure. But why should they not still be able to go to college with a scholarship?”

Johnson added that if they students “stay true to their roots,” they should go on to make the right life decisions.